Page 75 of A King So Savage

He’d even listened for a minute or two as Ava made a desperate play for escape. Her acting skills had his lips tweaking with reluctant amusement. For a brief moment, he even believed Malcolm would simply bring her sweet little ass right back to him.

But that didn’t happen. Kingston could not shut out the image of Malcolm looming over Ava. How his thick hands grabbed and yanked at her clothes, roaming over places she should never be touched. How small and delicate she was compared to that bear of a man. Her cries of pain had ignited a fear within him that bloomed past obsession.

And Kingston discovered the rage overwhelming him was directed not only at his employee, but at himself for failing to keep Ava safe.

A gasp of surprise slipped past Ava’s lips as they entered Kingston’s suite of rooms.

The bench sat haphazardly in two jagged pieces now, one half of a tattered silk sash fluttering from its curved arm while the other dangled from the doorknob.

“Did you think that flimsy barricade would keep me contained? I’d go through a thousand brick walls to get to you, Ava. Through hell, if necessary.” Kingston shoved the wood bench aside as he guided Ava into his room.

The damage was even worse inside the bedroom. The chair once wedged under the bathroom door knob was upside down and splintered. It had landed several feet away when Kingston kicked his way out. The door itself hung crooked and haphazard, the ornately carved framing cracked and in pieces.

Ava inhaled a breath of alarm at seeing the damage, and Kingston allowed himself a satisfied smirk.

He hoped she was sufficiently frightened. Maybe now she understood the way things would go between them.

At first, Kingston found himself amused by Ava’s daring cleverness in barricading him inside the bathroom. As he forcibly shouldered his way through the door, a sliver of admiration for her resourcefulness had warmed him. But witnessing the aftermath of her decision to flee from him and the dangerous situation she’d encountered had the blood pounding like a raging river inside his veins.

His little lamb must be taught a valuable lesson. And once he took care of Malcolm, that particular issue would be addressed accordingly.

With his hand across her backside.

Pushing her onto the bed, he grabbed his cell phone. It had been ringing incessantly since they entered the room.

“Yeah?” His voice was a gruff bark, and hearing it had Ava nervously wrapping her arms around herself. Like him, spatters of blood covered her arms and chest. She swiped her mouth with the back of a hand that trembled. Tentatively, she touched the apple of her cheek with the tips of her fingers and winced.

The neck of the robe had slipped off her delicate shoulders, and now, he could see the bruising on her upper arms. She would be black and blue soon.

Something primitive, a pang of emotion that was wild and vicious, surged through Kingston. Never had he been so excited at the prospect of killing a man with his bare hands. He was going to take his time with Malcolm. Make sure the piece of shit waiting in the cells below died slowly and with as much pain as possible.

“Hey,” Oliver said on the other end of the line. “What’s up? You sound majorly pissed. Well, you always sound pissed but more than usual.”

“There’s a problem.”

“With what? Or more precisely, with whom? Our little visitor?” Oliver’s tone was puzzled. “She giving you trouble? How very brave of her. I think she might just be a girl after my own heart.”

“It’s Malcolm,” Kingston sneered. Hehatedthe idea of his brother even being near Ava, much less giving her his heart. That was never going to happen as long as he drew breath. “Gotta cut him loose.”

“Didn’t he just get back from that job in Mexico?” Oliver asked, perplexed. “Don’t tell me he screwed all that up. Fucking idiot. I gave him the details myself.”

“It’s not Mexico,” Kingston replied, gritting his teeth. “He put his hands on something he shouldn’t have.”

“Well… was he aware this thing was off limits? You know he goes dark when he’s out on jobs. He probably didn’t know.”

“Oh, he fucking knew. He just didn’t care.”

There was silence for a long moment, then Oliver said in a hardened voice, “I won’t stand in the way. Gotta do what you think best, King.”

“Don’t worry. I will.” Kingston scrubbed a hand over his jaw, abruptly realizing that Ava’s dark green eyes tracked his movements. She stared at his hand, and with a grimace, he realized it was the same hand that had smashed in Malcolm’s nose. The blood coating his knuckles, a mix of his own and the other man’s, was now smeared across his own face.

“Why did you call?” Kingston prodded Oliver.

“Thought you’d want to know as soon as I got the word. There will be no payment from Carson.” Oliver laughed into the phone as though he found the whole scenario greatly amusing. “He refused. Just like you said he would. The prize is all ours.”

Kingston’s gaze drifted over his reluctant captive. She could only hear one side of the conversation, but seeing how her chin tilted, she obviously knew she was the subject.

“What is your expected time of arrival?

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